Noise Cancelling Headphones

Hi Lettie,

I'm still experimenting with this a little myself.  Unfortunately, noise cancelling headphones can be a bit expensive, so I'm wary of spending all that money, and then finding them ineffective!

The reason I say that is because, from talking to many other autistic people with this problem, the range of things that can help is incredibly varied, and very particular to each individual person.

Like your son, I didn't find ear defenders or ear plugs very effective - my brain just strains itself trying to make sense of the little bit of sound that still gets through, which is not terribly helpful!  Some people have a similar problem with noise-cancelling headphones, as the residual sound can have a peculiar sound to it due to the way that the technology works.

For many people, wearing headphones that play some sound that masks the outside world works better.  This might be a well chosen playlist of music.  For others, nature sounds like the ocean or bird song work well.  And for others still, synthetic sounds like "white noise" or "radio static" work best - which seems to be the case for me.

So, be prepared to experiment a little.  If you can find someone who your son can borrow some noise-cancelling headphones from, or a hi-fi shop that does customer demonstrations, you might even be able to "try before you buy."

Best wishes.

Hi Lettie,

I'm still experimenting with this a little myself.  Unfortunately, noise cancelling headphones can be a bit expensive, so I'm wary of spending all that money, and then finding them ineffective!

The reason I say that is because, from talking to many other autistic people with this problem, the range of things that can help is incredibly varied, and very particular to each individual person.

Like your son, I didn't find ear defenders or ear plugs very effective - my brain just strains itself trying to make sense of the little bit of sound that still gets through, which is not terribly helpful!  Some people have a similar problem with noise-cancelling headphones, as the residual sound can have a peculiar sound to it due to the way that the technology works.

For many people, wearing headphones that play some sound that masks the outside world works better.  This might be a well chosen playlist of music.  For others, nature sounds like the ocean or bird song work well.  And for others still, synthetic sounds like "white noise" or "radio static" work best - which seems to be the case for me.

So, be prepared to experiment a little.  If you can find someone who your son can borrow some noise-cancelling headphones from, or a hi-fi shop that does customer demonstrations, you might even be able to "try before you buy."

Best wishes.